Hello Beautiful People,
It was a Wednesday afternoon, and I was at the Cupcake Cafe with my new, (now old), friend Shakina Nayfack.
It was a wonderful day, one of those perfect New York moments – I was having cupcakes and coffee with a kindred spirit, a new friend, we were sharing stories of art and life…and then my phone buzzed.
I had recieved a new email.
From Susan Egan.
And then I died, like, twice.
Allow me to fill you in on the gaps – I had recently launched The Write Teacher(s), and was CONSTANTLY looking for artists that I admired to participate in our Actors + Actresses Q&A Series. I spent WEEKS, scouring the vault on playbill.com, looking for legit ways to contact these artists that I had grown to love, admire, and respect so much.
I flooded the inboxes of many, asking for five, ten minutes of their time. Asking to hear their stories. And it was wonderful, and I will always be grateful to those first few interviews, for they gave me the courage and the strength to just keep on pluggin’.
Now, Susan Egan really does not have an inbox that one can flood – and really, how can you blame her? For it would probably break the internet server, has she has, undoubtetly, one of the greatest careers on the great white way.
And so, I entertained a foregin concept – I wrote her a letter. I filled it with all the gusto and admiration and zeal that I would in any email, put a stamp on it, sent it off to California, and, quite frankly, thought nothing of it. I figured it would wind up in a heap of fanmail, and that would be that.
Well, I was wrong.
Susan, well, she read my letter.
And oh, how my life has been the better for it.
I truly believe that things happen for a reason, and I do believe that Sus was brought into my life at the most perfect time. For you see, that email came through at a time when I questioned EVERYTHING about my career. The Write Teacher(s). The arts. I had those moments of…what the hell am I doing? And they came on quite a frequent basis. 
Would this website make sense? Would my shows matter? Should I stop writing? Should I stop teaching? Should I stop directing? Would my work matter? Should I give up?
And then that email came.
And then my fairy theater godmother came into my life, and well, she snapped me out of it. She gave me the encouragement, the strength, the validation, and the will to keep on pluggin’. She put things into perspective, and she gave me the most precious gifts – her stories, her wisdom, and her support all wrapped up together with one shiny bright bow.
And for that, well, I will be eternally grateful.
I have always admired Susan Egan. I was one of those kids transfixed by Belle – and for as much as I adore the entire score and soundtrack of Beauty and the Beast, it’s songs like Home and Change in Me that have always stuck with me, stayed with me, and been that musical comfort over the years.
So to have Susan support The Write Teacher(s), well, it was as if life was coming full circle.
Exactly one week ago, I had the pleasure of seeing her one woman show at 54 Below.
And, if it’s possible, I grew to admire her more.
Now, the music in her shows is always stunning – her set list will always hit you in the heart, the gut, and the head simulteanously. Susan has the type of talent that will make you forget where you are – she’ll leave you breathless, she’ll leave your soul full.
Yet, for me, one of the greatest parts of seeing Susan Egan in concert, was the inbetween moments. Those times when she broke the fourth wall and interacted with her audience. Those moments when she began to tell a breif story about her times on Broadway, and although those stories were mere snippets, the respect, admiration, and love for she had and continue to have for her colleagues, her craft, and the time she spend on the Great White Way is reflected in every pause, every smile, and every breath…
…and yes, subsequently, every note.
I am a firm believer that there should be more people on this earth like Susan Egan. There’s a class and elegance to Sus that I can only hope my students will learn from, for if they were to emulate anyone, I should hope it’d be someone like Susan Egan.
Her concert has many upcoming dates, which you can find here, and I do hope you’ll trust me when I say that it’s a show you should NOT miss.
Live, Love, Learn,